Improvement in self-acting mule



N.FETERS, PMoTo-UTNOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D C.

@Hitch tetrs etint @ffice HORACE GROSSMAN, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE 1SL'AND,' ASSIGNOR T.) HIM- SELF AND ALBERT BltlGGS.

Letter-s Parent ivo. 69,188, dntcrl September 24, 1313i'.

IMPRVEMENT IN SELjAGTING MULE.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that 1, HORACE CROSSMAN, of the'city and county of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new' and useful Improvements in Self-Acting'Mules; and l do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings making a part of the same, is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Sheet 1 of the drawings exhibits my improved means of connection between the taller-lock and the relief lever, Figure 1 being a side view, and Figure 2 a front view. i

Sheet l exhibits my apparatus for giving a slowmovemcnt to the delivery-rollers while the carriage is running in, (Figure 3 showing' aside view, and Figure a section through the axis of the apparatus, and a front. view of the parts with which it is immediately connected.)

Sheet 3 exhibits the means employed by me to give a positive movement to the main cam-shaft, and also exhibits an improvement in the cscapement.

Sheet 4 exhibits the improved clutch-coupling employed to maintain the connection between the mechanism for operating the carriage in bolli directions, and the source ot' motion. i

To understand the improvements inthe self-acting mule, which are the subject of this patent, will not require a minute description of all the parts of that complex organism which constitutes the entire machine,'but only of such portions as will make, to those skilled in the art, the relation of theimprovemcnts to the parts with which they are connected intelligible.

It is well known that a self-acting mule is made up oi' mechanisms appropriate for the performance of the following principal operations: A stationary frame for holding a series of spools wound with the material which is to be spun; a movable carriage mounted on a track, which carriage carries the spindles; a mechanism for causing the carriage to more away from the stationary frame, and in so doing twist the material which is being delivered from thc spools; a mechanism for causing the outward movement of the carriage to be arrested at a determined point; a mechanism for reversing the direction otl rotation ofthe spindle after the required degree of twistv inthe yarn has been obtained, called the backing-oit motion, and at the same time causing the faller to move the threads downward from the end of the spindles to the point where the cop is to be formed; a mechanism for causing the carriage to be run inward, and another for giving a slower movement to the spindles, in the saine direction in 'which they whirl to put in the twist, while the carriage is running in for winding the spun yarn upon the cops; and finally, a mechanism for arresting the movement of the carriage as it comes up to the delivery-rollers, adjusting the yarn so as to he twisted bythe spindles, and putting linto gear the mechanism for again running out the carriage.

Instances of self-acting inues which comprehend the above-described movements, together with others incidental to the full execution of the work required of them, and not necessaryv to be referred to, will he found in the machines of this class in common use throughout'the country.

My first improvement consists in' an improved means of connection between the faller-lock and the relief lever. It is very necessary that the taller should he brought down promptly and without loss of time at the moment that the bitching-oit" operation commences, preparatory to the windingr of the yarn upon the cop, Heretofore the relief lever, or that lever which operatesby its rweight to keep the chain taut, which pulls down the feller, has been connected directly with the mechanism which locks the feller fast during the running in of the carriage, and as the position otl the i'allcr is being constantly changed to give the proper form to the cop, the length of chain is changing in consequence; that is to say, a lengthof chain which would be suitable for a certain size of the cop and corresponding position of the faller, .will be too long to suit the changing conditions due to the change in the size ofthe cop, andthe excess in the length ot' such chain or its slack must be taken up before any action is had to draw down the Faller. `While such slack is being taken up the backing oil is going on, and is obliged to continue longer than it ought with an appropriate length of chain. By my improvement it will' he seen, sheet 1ig. 1, that lthe relief lever is connected with the locking mechanism of the taller by an intermediate lever, the effect ot' which is to cause the feller to be operated at the proper moment., as heretofore, but after the faller has been locked, the chain which pulls down the taller to position is no longer subject to change, whatever may be the change in position ot the mechanism which locks the faller.

A is the reliet` lever, carrying a loose'frietion pulleynvhech'a, around which-the chain I1, which operates the fallen', passes. The fuller-lock is provided with a curved groove, c, eut inthe side of a curved arm, B, projecting from the axle-shaft C, lsaid groove taking in theendvot a stud-pin, d, attached to the side of an arm, e, upon the intermediate connecting-lever D (fig. 2.) A tongue, E, projecting i'rom the under side of the relief` lever A (fig. 1 at all times, except when the faller is locked, bears against a stud-pin, f, in the .side of the connecting lever, wherebyany tendencyy of the relief lever to he raised as the faller is being drawn down by the chain -b is prevented. So soon, however, as the faller has descended sufficiently far to allow the lever-arm F to become locked bythe stud-pin g, and the lever F', to which it is attached, falling far enougli to permit the stud-pin g to engage with the abrupt face /fof the catch upon the lever F, the tongue E upon the relief lever A will he released from the control of the stud-pinf hy the falling of the latter to a lower position, as an incident of the change f in the relative position o' the stud-pin g and catch 7i, whereupon thc relief lever will become free andiv bear with its proper weight only upon thc chain I1. Y l

Another improvement relates to a mechanism for giving a slow movement to the delivery-rollers while the carriage is running in, and thereby, during that time, cause a small quantity of yarn to be `given oti'in 'excess of the quantity delivered while the carriage is ruiming out. The importance of a means to effect this result will be understood when it is considered that as the carriage is running in, and the yarn being wound upon theV cops, if the untwisted` yarn be heldfas heretofore, i'ast at ono point in the nip of the delivery-rollers, the twist which has been put into the portion which is being wound will run up to the nip ot' the rollers, and being unable to go farther, will either break the yarn in its effort to extend itself, or certainly render the yarn weak at that point. if, however, a smaller quantity cfyarn can be given oft' eontemporaneously with the running in of the carriage, the twist already in the portion spun will run into and twist the portion so given oil, and thereby not only prevent the yarn from breaking and preserve itsuniformity, but A,incidentally add t0 the capacity of the machine. f,

In sheet 2, figs. 3 and'el, the arrangement which I employ is shown. Upon the front roller G is keyed a toothed wheel, Gl, which in this instance is furnished with thirty-two teeth around its periphery. Gr2 is a similar wheel, with the exception that in this instance itis furnished with thirtygone teeth, and instead of being fast upon the roller G, it is loose upon the same, and is provided with a long hub, 2f, which extends through the side ol the hollow pulley 7' which encloses both wheels. Inside this hollow pulley, and geared respectively with the toothedA wheels Gil G2, are two pinions H H', or more properly two pinions upon one hub, the portion II, in this instance, having iifteen teeth, and the portion lihaving fourteen teAeth. The hub of this double pinion is tted so as to turn freely upon an axle, k, passing from side to side of the hollow pulley y'. Upon the end of the hub of the toothed wheel G2, and outside the easing or hollow' pulley y', is keyed' a catch-wheel, I, with the teeth of which a pawl or holdingdog, Z, may be made to engage. A continuous rotary movement is given t0 the hollow pulleyj byy means of a belt, nz, or other means, deriving motiop from-any convenient source, as the driving-shaft ofthe mulo-head. New it is quite evident when thc carriage is running ont and the stretch being ina-de by the spindles; the fast gearwheel -Gl will give motion to the pinion H', and such pinion being fast to l its fellow-pinion Il, a movement around its'axis will he imparted to the gear-wheel G2, it being understood that at this time the catch-wheel I is not blocked by the dog Z. So soon, however, as the carriage commences to run in, the mechanism, 'which during the running= out of the carriage gives rapid motion to the delivery-rollers, must necessarily he thrown out of gear, (the clutch-box Il I2 being open as seen.) The slow movement of the rollcrsin the same direction now commences by the fact that the catch-wheel I 1being now, held fast by the dog the rotary movement of the hollow' pullcyj will cause the double pinion H H. to' 'oc revolved around its axis whereby a slowA rotary movement will be given to the fixed gear-wheel Gl and thefront roller G, and the rapidity of the movement will always he in proportion to the diameters of the wheels G1 G2 relatively to their` engaging `pinions H H. In this case, with a stretch of sixty inches when the carriage is running out, there will be a delivery of three inches while the carriage is running in, or a gain in production of live per cent., which, in a mule capable of makin(r three stretches per minute, would in the aggregatee'ect an important economy.

The means by which the holding-dog lis operated is as follows: It is attached to an axle-shaft mounted in bearings in the standard UT, which is located at the side of the hollo'w pulley j, and constitutes one of thc supports for the front roller. Upon the end of this axle-sha`t, opposite to that which carries the dog, 'is a lever-arm, k, one end of whichis weighted, and the other is connected by aA linlt-rod, n, with the long lever L, which in this, as in other self-acting mules, controls the eseapenient-wheel upon the camshaft. The position of this long lever L will determine the position of the lever-arm 7c, and consequently the engagement of the dog l with the catelwheel I, and its proper position during the running in of the carriage, is such that the dog will during that time he 'engaged with the teeth ot' the catch-wheel, and at. other times be moved away therefrom.

Another improvement consists in the means for giving a positive movement to the main cam-shaft, and is 1 an improvement upon the means described in the LettersPatent granted to H. S. Bartlett on the 12th day ot April, A. D. 1864. it has heen found.Y practically impossible to construct toothed gears .within the dimensions required, sufiieiently strong to withstand the shock to which they are exposed. While on the one hand a positive motion is very desirable, it is important that the means by which it is obtained should possess not only strength, but some degree of elasticity. I have effected this by substituting inA place of the toothed gears shown in Bartletts patent, a chain gear, as exhibited in the drawings, sheet 3,Figures 5 and 6. Thus M is a wheel provided with the projecting points o around its periphery, with which the links of the chain i engage in a way well understood. ,lBy the simple change of means for imparting motion to the cam-shaft I am enabled f' l to distribute the shock among the several hearing points oi'lthe cha-in gear instead of having it concentrated upon any one tooth of o. gear, and there is sufficientolastioity to the chain to satisfy the necessities of the f n t will be observed also that form the face or periphery of the escepeinent-plote P with four micha-M corresponding with the four stop-dogs in the side of the pluto, each oi" these tc-otli moving on abrupt fncagp, a i n. long back, q, as shown. n connection with the pinto so formed i. use a combined spring-broke ond Stor, i.

which takes the place of the pins and spring-lever on the back of the plate employed heretofore, und grooiiy simplifies the arrangement.

carriage in. both directions. it consists ofol poouiiur friction-clutch, wliioli is essentially :i positive connection so long as the resistance to 'Ge overcome is not superior to tito force which holds the two surfaces oi" lie mut-oli together, and is not liable to dcrnngement from slight Causes, is in the onse of the frictiowwlieels heretofore used 'to drive the carriage. s will be seen in Figure S, sheet el, the teeth of the clutch R are nitide V form. The faces of the two parts of the oiutoli are hold together by the action of spring or its equivalent. Ii' any unusual resistance is enoounered the Springs will yield and ztllou` the teetli en time clutch focos to siip over einen other,

. Unless, however, such unusual resistance occurs, ille motion is communicate( by if. ospromptly and :is eii'eotunliy Another improvement conists in the means for Communicating motion io the mechanism which drives r'lo l :is if' the f-.tees of the clutch :rereso constructed es to ue non-ieldingwhat I claim my invention, and desire to Secure by Lot-ters Pat-ent, is- 1. Connootizigtlie fuller iooking mechanism vfitli the relief` lever in n self-noting :nulo oy an intormodiuio lever connection, opera-ting sul-istitntialiy as described for the ping-:eee spooiried. i

Q, Importing o slow movement to the deiivory .rollers in u selfoich'og mule during tlio time that lie carriage is running in, by tlie means :substantially :is scribed..

3. The combination and arrangement of tlie catch-wheel lioldingqlug 7, und lever L with the mulociirioge, substantially its described for the purposes Specified.

4. Combining clic main :rein-shaft in zi. self-:ix-.ting )nulo with o chain geur, as arranged und Shown, lo giro motion to tiie saine, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the escapement-piote i?, whose periphery is formed wil'; ratohet-teotli, shown, with a sprngdnake and stop, Q, Substantially as described.

6. Gombining n mule-cnrrizge with its source of motion bj; means of the peculiar frictioincliitaii R, mi siftiitiitlly described.

EGGE OLSSMAH. Witnossee: 

